Eek, sounds like there are infinite possibilities available even on one simple restaurant menu! Loved hearing about the Bihari restaurant owner. I'm also convinced Japan is probably heaven on earth :)
Wonderful to learn of your experiences there Tatum. The kanji challenges were funny to hear about. With the "we don't have normal here" comeback. It's hard for some people to make inferences! Yumiko's nephew who was grade school used to think I was like a first-grader because of my limited ability in JApanese, and her parents would tell him that he needs to have patience with me (gamon steru). And yes, highlighting the sound of water (mizu no oto) is a virtue of the Japanese. They don't take for granted the peace of the present moments. You captured it beautifully in your story. Finally, i chuckled at the Bihari story with Raghav mishmashing Japanese and Hindi with the store owner. A rare occasion in life for you two. Thanks for sharing the fun.
It was too funny when he said there is no normal. I saw that coming a little. It's also funny because I know one of the kanji that restaurants use for the "middle" size, but this ramen spot used a different kanji to indicate the middle size. It just seems that there are endless ways to describe the same thing. Mizu no oto is everywhere here. There is so much trickling water that naturally occurs here! It's striking. The Bihari restaurant owner using Hindi-Japanese was cool. I don't know that we'll hear that combination again for a long time.
Eek, sounds like there are infinite possibilities available even on one simple restaurant menu! Loved hearing about the Bihari restaurant owner. I'm also convinced Japan is probably heaven on earth :)
Wonderful to learn of your experiences there Tatum. The kanji challenges were funny to hear about. With the "we don't have normal here" comeback. It's hard for some people to make inferences! Yumiko's nephew who was grade school used to think I was like a first-grader because of my limited ability in JApanese, and her parents would tell him that he needs to have patience with me (gamon steru). And yes, highlighting the sound of water (mizu no oto) is a virtue of the Japanese. They don't take for granted the peace of the present moments. You captured it beautifully in your story. Finally, i chuckled at the Bihari story with Raghav mishmashing Japanese and Hindi with the store owner. A rare occasion in life for you two. Thanks for sharing the fun.
It was too funny when he said there is no normal. I saw that coming a little. It's also funny because I know one of the kanji that restaurants use for the "middle" size, but this ramen spot used a different kanji to indicate the middle size. It just seems that there are endless ways to describe the same thing. Mizu no oto is everywhere here. There is so much trickling water that naturally occurs here! It's striking. The Bihari restaurant owner using Hindi-Japanese was cool. I don't know that we'll hear that combination again for a long time.